All Growed Up

Over the years, we've learned that buying our kids loads of mess-making junk for Christmas gets us just that - loads of mess-making junk.  They'd have so many toys, they quite literally wouldn't know what to do with them all.  We've learned to watch our kids as the big day gets closer for things they would truly enjoy and play with more than once before forgetting they even owned it.  I know there are those that buy their kids so many toys and just rotate them, which is a very cool idea, but we've never had room for extra storage until now, and they're too old for a lot of toys, anyway, so that idea might be put on hold for Quin... who knows. 

Anyway, on to my point (I meander a lot in my thinking - sorry): 

We went shopping this year, back in October, I think.  Now, first, I need to let it be known that my "meandering-ness" has been inherited to my poor daughter.  Her mind is as ever-changing as any true female's.  Over the past few months, I kept trying to find out what it was she really wanted for Christmas, as she's the type to see something and want it, then see something else and want that.  Andur, I wasn't worried about.  His interests have been the same for years:  legos, Star Wars, and trains. 

I was so worried that what Natalie wanted wasn't what we got her.  She made list, after list, after list, literally covering our fridge with them...and then came home from school with yet another list to Santa.  All with different things on them, mind you.  Very random, there's-no-way-you're-getting-a-real-dog-or-a-real-cat sorts of lists.  Anyway, as I was worrying, I kept going over in my head what I liked at that age.  My Little Pony and Cabbage Patch Kids.  Well, Natalie's never liked CPKs and she has 41 (no joke) MLPs, so that was out of the question.  I told Matt, our kids are growing up, they're interests are changing, we have to stop getting them the same things every year.  He agreed.  I was so panicked she would be sad, I almost went back out Christmas Eve night for more gifts.

Christmas morning came.  She absolutely loved the doll we (erm, Santa) got her, which was her main big present.  (We do one big, several small, keeping things simple so as not to totally distract from the reason we celebrate in the first place.)  She was so happy she had "nice brown hair" like her.  She toted her all over all day and is napping her as we speak.  ;) 

All that worrying for nothing.  I had two gifts under the tree this year, which in years past would've made me a little sad (I am only human), but this year, it didn't.  I was really more concerned that our kids would like what we got them, Natalie, especially.  Guess that means I'm the one who did some growing up.